Speech Pathology,BH-SPEECH

Overview

Speech pathologists help people of all ages who have trouble communicating with others or difficulty drinking and eating safely.

As a speech pathologist, you may help children develop speech, language and literacy, provide feeding advice to parents of a baby born with cleft palate, use technology to enable communication, and support adults after a stroke, traumatic brain injury or onset of illness. You will work alongside other health and education professionals in hospitals and communities.

In this course, you’ll develop your knowledge of typical and atypical speech and language development, along with the mechanisms underlying acute and chronic conditions that can impair swallowing and communication. You’ll also learn clinical reasoning and practical skills, applying them to diverse cases.

In your first year, you’ll study communication science units and interprofessional course units with students from other health science disciplines. You’ll then delve into key practice areas, building the skills and knowledge needed to assess, diagnose and manage a range of client cases.

As your skills mature, you’ll apply them during supervised clinical placements in our on-campus clinics and various community settings. This includes opportunities for rural, remote and international fieldwork experiences.

In your final year, you will complete supervised clinical placements while undertaking an individual research or collaborative professional honours project.

You’ll graduate with the expertise and confidence to begin your career as a speech pathologist.

This can be a physically and mentally challenging course. Please familiarise yourself with the inherent requirements before applying.

What you'll learn

• apply knowledge of human communication science to the delivery of speech pathology services and research in diverse and changing settings
• critically analyse information to plan, implement and evaluate speech pathology services and research
• locate, extract and critically appraise evidence and information from a range of resources to solve theoretical and applied problems in human communication science
• demonstrate excellence in written, verbal and non-verbal communication skills appropriate to the discipline within a legal and ethical framework
• use technologies relevant to the human communication sciences to inform clinical practice and research
• understand and implement varied learning strategies, and take responsibility for ongoing professional and personal development
• incorporate and demonstrate awareness of global or international perspectives in health care to clinical practice and research in speech pathology
• demonstrate awareness of and respect for individual human rights and cultural diversity
• independently and collaboratively apply professional skills in an ethical manner across a range of professional settings

English requirements

Curtin requires all applicants to demonstrate proficiency in English. Specific English requirements for this course are outlined in the IELTS table below.

You may demonstrate English proficiency using the following tests and qualifications.

If your documents are not issued in English, an official translation from a recognised translation service must be provided.

Recognised translation services

• National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) accredited translator in Australia
• The Awarding institution
• A Notary Public Office
• The official Government body
• An official and accredited translator*

*Official translations are subject to review.

If you have undertaken previous study or work that matches the content of some of your Curtin course units, you may be able to obtain credit for recognised learning, which exempts you from studying those units.

You can apply direct online through our Applicant Portal. You can access the Applicant Portal by:

1. Navigating to the relevant course page
2. Click ‘Apply now’
3. When the pop-up window appears, select “Apply directly to Curtin University”.

If you want to package your course with a Curtin English course, you can submit your application with your course application documents to streamline the process.

If your application is successful, you will receive an offer that you will need to accept or reject.

If you accept your offer, you will receive a Confirmation of Enrolment ­– a document from Curtin that details your course, how long you will be studying the course, and the tuition fees. This document can be used for acquiring a student visa.

Apply to the Australian government for your student visa. Gaining a student visa will allow you to participate in full-time study in Australia and work up to 40 hours in a fortnight. If you’re under 18 years of age, you must have approved accommodation and welfare arrangements in place before a visa can be issued.